One emerging and attractive paradigm in network communications is Mobile Computing, which combines traditional data networks and telecommunication networks in a mobile computing environment. Communication may be provided, not only between fixed and/or mobile devices, but also in accordance with personalized services and resources which are accessible to a mobile users at any time and place (see, for example, A. Hooda, A. Karmouch, S. Abu-Hakima, “Nomadic Support Using Agents”, 4th International Symposium on Internetworking, Ottawa, July 1998).
The increased flexibility afforded by mobile computing has come at the expense of eroded network security. When a user roams the network and remotely accesses services and/or resources on the network, network integrity can be exposed to significant security risks. Specifically, various types of attack can be launched at any enabled access location on the network. Passive wiretapping, active wiretapping, IP sniffing, and identity spoofing are only some examples of these types of attacks.